Stainless steel Flange – what material are they made of?

Posted by siddhgiri metals on June 12th, 2019

The word flange usually means a ring which is connected to a pipe, by means of a welded joint and more rarely threaded, and which is drilled with a standardized number of holes which, through the use of bolts, allows connection to another flange of equal size.

In the design of piping systems, the most economical jointing method is definitely butt welding, but for proper maintenance and easy assembly and disassembly, it is essential to use steel flanges that make it possible to create bolted joints that can be easily disassembled. This allows the realization also in outsourcing of modules that are then assembled on site.

In this phase it is necessary to have a correct interface design process, that is to say, the connections made with the stainless steel 304 flanges in order to avoid situations in which losses may occur in the assembly, such as those in chemical or oil plants, which could have catastrophic consequences.

How the flanges are built

The materials are chosen for the construction of flanges

•             The 316 is employed where there is the presence of high temperatures because it has good corrosion resistance, is particularly suitable for its resistance to the action of saline environments, but is able to effectively withstand also the action of acids, salts and other chemical reagents of various types. This allows it to be used in the most diverse fields, including yachting and the food industry, where resistance to aggressive cleaning products is important.
•             The use of stainless steel 304 flange is indicated instead in the food industry, in the chemical industry, and the petrochemical sector, but also the pharmaceutical industry and this is also due to the fact that resistance to hot corrosion is such as to maintain good chemical characteristics and mechanical during continuous operation up to about 800 ° C.

But the manufacturers do not have articles made only in stainless steel, but also in carbon steels for construction, and even here the choice is decidedly wide depending on the use to which they are intended. Construction steels are those that the new ISO standard identifies as a function of their mechanical characteristics with the suffix P that indicates suitable materials for use in pressure, with yield strengths starting from 235 MPA at room temperature.

Stainless Steel Flanges are made with the help of current techniques under the guidance of experts present at the manufacturing unit. The range of stainless steel 304 flanges offered is stringently tested on many standards of quality to make sure that it is defect free and flawless. These flanges are used in several industries and appreciated by client for owning unmatchable features.